FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts 
Andrew Keating, Director of Communications, 406.657.1104, media@rocky.edu  

Special Olympics Montana athletes playing exhibition games during RMC basketball games February 9, 2017

BILLINGS, February 3, 2017 – Special Olympics Montana (SOMT) athletes from the Yellowstone Valley will be playing exhibition games during the half times of both the RMC men’s and women’s basketball games against Carroll College on Thursday, February 9, in the Fortin Gym. RMC Women’s Basketball vs. Carroll College will begin at 5:30 p.m., and RMC Men’s Basketball vs. Carroll College will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Fortin Education Center gymnasium.

Rocky Mountain College’s SO College Club will work with SOMT to help sell tickets for their 23^rd Annual MTN/Chevy Raffle. Prizes and sponsors for these prizes include the following:

• Grand Prize: 2017 Chevy Silverado Pickup
• Runner-Up: 2017 Forest River Wildwood X-Lite 175FB
• 2^nd Prize: Disney Vacation for 4 – DISNEY
• 3^rd Prize: $3,000 Gas Card – TOWN PUMP
• 4^th Prize: $2,000 Gas Card – TOWN PUMP
• 5^th Prize: $1,000 Gift Card – MURDOCH’S RANCH & HOME SUPPLY
• 6^th Prize: $1,000 Gas Card – TOWN PUMP
• 7^th Prize: 4 tires up to a $750 value – TIRE-RAMA
• 8^th Prize: $500 Gift Card – BOB WARD & SONS
• 9^th Prize: $500 Gift Car – SCHEELS SPORTING GOODS
• 10^th Prize: Year’s supply of pizza for five winners – MONTANA PIZZA HUT STORES

This specific raffle drawing will be held on May 19, 2017, in Missoula during Special Olympics State Games (need not be present to win).

RMC student volunteers and SO College Club members will also be selling 50/50 tickets during the duration of both the RMC women’s and men’s basketball games. The money raised from those sales will go to support Special Olympics Yellowstone Valley here in the state of Montana (Billings resides within this region of Special Olympics Montana).

Rocky Mountain College was selected as a 2016-2017 Unified Champion School by Special Olympics Montana. The school was selected because “of the great work of schools like yours that our students of all abilities are given the opportunity to compete in sports, become leaders in their communities, and know that they are an important part of the fabric of their school.”

RMC also has an SO College Club that became official this year. RMC qualified to have an SO College Club because it originally met two of the three criteria, or components. Those components are Inclusive Sports Program, Youth Leadership, and Whole School Engagement Program. For the last two academic years, RMC has fulfilled Youth Leadership and Whole School Engagement by volunteering at local Special Olympic events, like at the Bowling Tournament, Basketball Championship, Area Games, and State Games when they were last held in Billings/Laurel, participating and raising funds as part of the Billings Polar Plunge, and also by hosting Respect Rallies on campus.

This academic year, RMC’s SO College Club is aiming to fulfill all three components by helping bring athletes to RMC’s campus during the home basketball games against Carroll College. We hope to provide them with an experience that will highlight their dedication and hard work to the sport, as well as have fans of RMC’s basketball programs to be a fan of Special Olympics athletes across the state.

For more information about RMC’s partnership with Special Olympics Montana, please contact Emily Schaff at communityinvolvement@rocky.edu., or visit RMC’s website about Community Partnerships and Community Service Clubs (http://rocky.edu/student-life/career-services/community-service/CommunityInvolvementPartnerships.phpand http://rocky.edu/student-life/career-services/community-service/ServiceClubs.php).

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